At 41, single professor Sara Leader decides to create a family by adopting a child. After the adoption agency asks for details about her background, Sara reluctantly begins to probe her father's secret history — in particular, his flight as a 17–year–old Holocaust refugee aboard a ship denied entry into America. The more she learns about her father's past, the more Sara feels the need to question him about what happened — and the more she realizes how her father's secrets have shaped her own life. Alternating between a teenage boy's energetic letters to Eleanor Roosevelt and a daughter's sifting through the fragments of her father's traumatic wartime choices, Victoria Redel brilliantly imbues her characters with not only bravery and strength but with the humor to survive the pain of the past and the uncertainty of what lies ahead.

"At eight years old, Gerta Pieters is forced to disguise herself as a boy and sent to work for a genteel Dutch family. When their brilliant and beautiful daughter Maria sees through Gerta's ruse, she insists that Gerta accompany her to Amsterdam and help her enter the elite, male-dominated art world. While Maria rises in the ranks of society as a painting prodigy, Gerta makes herself invaluable in every way: confidante, muse, lover. But as Gerta steps into her own talents, their relationship fractures into a complex web of obsession and rivalry--and the secrets they keep threaten to unravel everything"--

Richard Temperley arrives at Euston station early on a fogbound London morning. He takes refuge in a nearby hotel, along with a disagreeable fellow passenger, who had snored his way through the train journey. But within minutes the other man has snored for the last time-he has been shot dead while sleeping in an armchair. Temperley has a brief encounter with a beautiful young woman, but she flees the scene. When the police arrive, Detective Inspector James discovers a token at the crime scene: a small piece of enamelled metal. Its colour was crimson, and it was in the shape of the letter Z. Temperley sets off in pursuit of the mysterious woman from the hotel, and finds himself embroiled in a cross-country chase- by train and taxi - on the tail of a sinister serial killer. This classic novel by the author of the best-selling Mystery in White is a gripping thriller by a neglected master of the genre. J. Jefferson Farjeon (1883-1955) was the author of more than sixty crime and thriller novels that were highly acclaimed in his lifetime. Farjeon is the author of Number Seventeen, a play that was adapted for the big screen by Alfred Hitchcock. His Christmas crime novel, Mystery in White, was republished as a British Library Crime Classic and became a bestseller. Front cover (c) NRM/Pictorial Collection/Science & Society Picture Library

The Gallows of Chance is a novel by E. Phillips Oppenheim, a prolific author known for his mystery and thriller stories. Published in 1933, this book is one of many that showcase Oppenheim's talent for crafting suspenseful narratives with intriguing characters and plots. The story revolves around a complex tale of crime, deception, and justice. The protagonist finds himself entangled in a web of intrigue, where he must navigate through various challenges to uncover the truth and clear his name or save someone else from a dire fate. The exact details of the plot typically involve unexpected twists and turns, characteristic of Oppenheim's writing. Edward Phillips Oppenheim (1866-1946) was an English novelist, in his lifetime a major and successful writer of genre fiction including thrillers. He wrote more than 100 novels between 1887 and 1943.

Joseph P. Cray is an American manufacturer who has just completed a year serving coffee to the troops in France during World War 1. He worked in a YMCA canteen as a volunteer. He is motivated by good will, and also to escape his American second wife who is the head of a temperance organization. With sybaritic glee, he returns to London, dons civilian garb, and enjoys his first cocktail. He is soon joined by his daughter, the beautiful Lady Sara Sittingbourne, who lives in London. Together the two seek "adventure" in the form of crimes foiled, jewels recovered, spies uncovered, and plots smashed. Mr Cray is accosted at a costume ball by the fey spirit of a medium, Christine Seboa, who turns out to be even cleverer than he. The adventures continue on the Riviera and back in New York. E. Phillips Oppenheim, in full Edward Phillips Oppenheim (born Oct. 22, 1866, London, Eng.-died Feb. 3, 1946, St. Peter Port, Guernsey, Channel Islands, U.K.), internationally popular British author of novels and short stories dealing with international espionage and intrigue.After leaving school at age 17 to help in his father's leather business, Oppenheim wrote in his spare time. His first novel, Expiation (1887), and subsequent thrillers caught the fancy of a wealthy New York businessman who bought out the leather business at the turn of the century and made Oppenheim a high-salaried director. He was thus freed to devote the major part of his time to writing. The novels, volumes of short stories, and plays that followed, totaling more than 150, were peopled with sophisticated heroes, adventurous spies, and dashing noblemen. Among his well-known works are The Long Arm of Mannister (1910), The Moving Finger (1911), and The Great Impersonation (1920).--Encyclopaedia Britannica.

The Floating Peril is a novel by E. Phillips Oppenheim, a prolific British author known for his thrillers, mysteries, and adventure stories. Published in 1930, this novel showcases Oppenheim's talent for weaving intricate plots with elements of suspense and intrigue. The story revolves around a mysterious and formidable sea vessel, referred to as the "Floating Peril," which poses a significant threat to international security. The narrative follows the efforts of various characters, including government officials and secret agents, as they attempt to uncover the true nature of the vessel and thwart its dangerous mission. Edward Phillips Oppenheim (22 October 1866 - 3 February 1946) was an English novelist, in his lifetime a major and successful writer of genre fiction including thrillers. He wrote more than 100 novels between 1887 and 1943. "Floating Peril" was first published serially in "The New York Post" under the title "The Story Without a Title" in 1935.

Edward Phillips Oppenheim (1866 - 1946) was an English novelist, in his lifetime a major and successful writer of genre fiction including thrillers. Oppenheim featured on the cover of Time magazine on September 12, 1927. He was the self-styled "prince of storytellers." He composed some one hundred and fifty novels, mainly of the suspense and international intrigue nature, but including romances, comedies, and parables of everyday life. He was the earliest writer of spy fiction as understood today, and invented the "Rogue Male" school of adventure thrillers that was later exploited by John Buchan and Geoffrey Household. Undoubtedly his most renowned work was The Great Impersonation: it was filmed thrice, the last time as a strong piece of wartime propaganda. Perhaps Oppenheim's most enduring creation is the character of General Besserley, . Much of Oppenheim's work possesses a unique escapist charm, featuring protagonists who delight in Epicurean meals, surroundings of intense luxury, and the relaxed pursuit of criminal practice, on either side of the law

Edward Phillips Oppenheim (1866 - 1946) was an English novelist, in his lifetime a major and successful writer of genre fiction including thrillers. Oppenheim featured on the cover of Time magazine on September 12, 1927. He was the self-styled "prince of storytellers." He composed some one hundred and fifty novels, mainly of the suspense and international intrigue nature, but including romances, comedies, and parables of everyday life. He was the earliest writer of spy fiction as understood today, and invented the "Rogue Male" school of adventure thrillers that was later exploited by John Buchan and Geoffrey Household.

"Ninette is an unlikely protagonist: Compelled by poverty to work as a prostitute, she dreams of a better life and and an education for her son. Plucky and street-wise, she enrolls her son in the local school and the story unfolds as she narrates her life to the school's headmistress. Ninette's account is both a classic rags-to-riches tale and a subtle, incisive critique of French colonialism."-- From back cover.